Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
by Lady Stockton
Summary: <html><head></head>Modern day AU, CoS-verse: New York City. It's four weeks 'til the big day and Riza wants dance lessons. What's Roy to do when he meets his new instructor? RizaxRoy and RoyEd UST.</html>
1. Lesson 1

_A/N: I think there may or may not be additional chapters. As it stands, this is it. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, those rights belong to the one and only, Hiromu Arakawa._

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><p>When Riza told Roy she wanted to do a routine for the big day, Roy seriously thought about escaping through the window. He figured there was a significant chance he might actually survive the five-story drop.<p>

"Why? You don't even like to dance."

"That may be true, but we're expected to have the first one. I'd rather do something coordinated than embarrass ourselves," she pointed out pragmatically.

Unfortunately, she had a point, so he could only nod and agree to his fiancée's demands. That's how he found himself in a dance studio, watching old people attempt to move parts of their bodies that they hadn't known still existed after the 1950s. Thankfully it wasn't long before the class was over as the elderly couples took arms and made their way out the glass door. Roy and Riza walked towards the only other people left in the studio. The taller of the two blonds stepped forward. Well tall was relative; the man still only came up to Roy's nose.

"Hi, I'm Ed Elric, your instructor and this is my partner, Winry. I guess you two must be Roy and Riza?"

The couple nodded and the man grinned, there was something feral about it. "Great! I know that you wanna learn a tango routine for your wedding." He waited for Riza's nod before continuing, "I've already choreographed it, so have a seat, Winry and I will demonstrate the first part for you. Don't worry it's easier than it looks." Again the grin. Roy found himself strangely attracted to it, as if it held the promise of exotic danger. He gave Riza a look as they sat down, but her face was unreadable. He leaned back in his chair and waited.

"You ready Winry?" Ed asked as the music started. She didn't answer, but sultrily stepped towards him, shoulders thrown back. They circled once, twice, a third time. Both of them had their brows drawn and a fierce look in their eyes as he pulled her close, faces almost touching. He spun her once before dropping into a low lunge, Winry his mirror. Roy noticed that their gaze never broke and that lent them a crackling intensity that went beyond the seductive roll of the woman's hips. When they came up, Ed pulled her into a series of spins, feet circling the other before stopping short as Winry bent back and slowly came back up. The two glided forward then back, Winry throwing her head and shoulders to the side before Ed pulled her up sharply against him. Another spin and then Ed did a step that made his hips twist far too erotically for Roy. Again the pair was joined at the hip as the two spun four times across the floor ending with Winry arched back again, leg drawn up against Ed's hip. The two broke away and Winry went to turn off the music.

Roy felt out of breath as if he had been holding it this entire time. Winry spoke for the first time and Roy tried to contain his shock at her girl-next-door voice. "It's just the first half of the dance, there's too much to teach all in one go."

"How are you going to teach us?" Riza asked calmly.

"'How am _I_ going to do _that_ lunge' is a better question," Roy said.

"No worries. Like I said, it's easier than it looks. You won't be able lunge that deeply for sure, but the effect will be the same. And to answer to _your_ question Riza, Winry's going to teach you first, while I instruct Roy. We'll then have you two run through it twice before the lesson is over." Riza nodded in understanding, a nearly imperceptible smile playing around her lips. Roy rolled his eyes at her: few people knew how possessive the woman could be, that would be the only reason that she chose an instructor with this teaching method. Winry lead Riza to another studio, leaving the two men alone. Roy finally got a good look at Ed while he put in another CD: he had his waist length hair in a ponytail and wore a simple outfit of black slacks and a black tank, which revealed a very muscular upper torso. A thick scar wrapped unevenly around his right shoulder. _I wonder what could've caused that?_ But was quickly distracted from it when he caught the color of Ed's eyes: pure gold. That wild flash of teeth Roy could only guess was a grin made him pay attention to what Ed was saying.  
>"Are you listening? Or did you just totally space out on me?" His speech was suddenly less formal and it put Roy at ease as he had the grace to look sheepish. "As I was saying, you have a tough lady, just like Winry, so she's going to try and lead you. But, if you stay strong and stick to your frame, she'll follow willingly. That's rule number one. Rule number two is to never break eye contact unless you absolutely have to. Alright, enough chitchat, let's get started." Ed walked into the center of the floor with all the grace of a predator during a hunt. It was enchanting. Roy followed him and the two began a basic warm up.<p>

"Have you ever done any ballroom dancing?"

"No, not unless you count swaying awkwardly at my high school prom," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that doesn't count, haha. Now, the first thing I'm going to teach you is the frame." Ed stood in front of Roy and pulled the man's right hand around and settled it in the middle of his back. Taking the other hand in his, he raised it. "Keep your elbows like that. This is the frame. Now we're just going to do a simple box step…." He was still talking, but Roy couldn't focus, not with that hair tickling the back of his hand. It was so tempting to stroke it, he knew it would feel really soft..."….pull me back. Got it?"

"Uh, yeah."

Ed started counting and when they didn't move, his brows drew down in frustration. "Hey Roy, are you gonna move before we're both old men?" The dark-haired man stiffened at that. He was _not_ old. Unfortunately, in his haste to prove how the fountain of youth sprung forth from his very loins, he botched the first step. Well, botch was an understatement. He royally fucked up the first step, managing to lay Ed flat on his back. And then he stepped on his foot, but, strangely, that didn't elicit any reaction. The smaller man sat up instantly, annoyance painting his brows in a scowl.

"Let me just show you," he ground out. Walking behind Roy so that he had to turn around, Ed took the lead position, resting Roy's left hand on his right shoulder. "Follow." The taller man nodded, apology written all over his face. Ed gracefully led his larger partner through the box step across the studio, accommodating Roy's clumsy footwork with ease. When they returned to their original position, Ed turned them around and dropped his arms. Something felt wrong about not having his firm hand on his back, but Roy couldn't understand why. Most of the frustration was gone when Ed spoke again, "Alright, your turn."

"Right." Roy moved closer to Ed and rested his hand gently in the middle of the blond's back. They got through the step once more with no mishaps. Satisfied, Ed nodded to himself.

"I'm gonna teach you the steps to your routine," he gave Roy a pointed glare. "Please pay attention."

After hurting his knee on the wood floor and a near fist fight over what was and was not appropriate for a man's hips to do, Roy learned the routine.

"Ok, let's do this once more with music," Ed said as he turned on the CD. He dancer's body moved in perfect mimicry of Winry, but somehow it was even more sensuous, more provocative as he stepped towards Roy. _The man practically oozes sex_. But there was no time to think because Ed was in his arms, eyes locked with his own. When they got to the first dip, Roy felt the distinct urge to lick Ed's neck as the man rolled back up, eyes on fire. Ed threw his head and shoulders to the side and that same fire flared in the pit of Roy's stomach when he pulled the blond back against him. Then the much fought over step, shredded pride stiffening his torso, and then the four turns across the floor. The blond arched against Roy at the end, knee already resting against his partner's hip. Then those gold eyes were locked with his, mouth open and panting. "Good," Ed breathed. Roy's hand slid reluctantly from the other's back as Winry and Riza walked in, chatting amicably.

When he and Riza went through the routine, Roy could only think about that auric gaze watching him with a ferocious intensity, rough-edged voice calling out corrections. _Four more lessons. I just have to make it through four more lessons._ He knew where this attraction came from, had seen it at work in other people. Some rare individuals simply had a magnetism that drew others, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. What frightened him was that it was happening to him four weeks before his wedding. He knew men, who had been married for years, throw it all away to chase after people like Ed. To _chase_, not even guaranteed a relationship.

"Alright you two, good work today. See you next week," Ed finished. As Roy left, he cast a glance over his shoulder and caught the other man's eyes again. _Next time_ that golden gaze promised.

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><p><em>AN: Please review!_


	2. Interlude

Roy drummed his fingertips off the side of his coffee cup as Riza went over the seating chart in laborious detail. Brilliant citrine eyes and hair danced in the back of his mind...

"Am I boring you, Roy?" his fiancée asked flatly, bringing him sharply to the present. Her mahogany eyes bore into his with implacable disenchantment. Knowing he couldn't cover, she knew him too well for that, he opted for the truth - well part of it anyway.

"Honestly, I don't care about the seating chart. As long as your weird second cousin," the corner of Riza's mouth quirked up. "And my estranged uncle, why did we invite him?, aren't sitting with us, I'm happy. Besides, this about me and you. As far as I'm concerned we could nab Maes and Rebecca, go to City Hall, and get married right now." Riza was grinning and making a womanly effort not to, so that it wavered but didn't dim the suspicious sheen in her eyes. She gave a small, if bemused sigh, and looked at the chart.

"That would be financially and socially impractical. And anyway, you and I both know that I won't be able to leave this unfinished, so you might as well head back to the office and I'll wrap this up before I go in for my fitting."

"Yes, ma'am," Roy joked and stood. He pressed a kiss to Riza's cheek and wished her luck before making his escape and marveled that even his stoic Riza could be swayed by a little romance. He _had_ known this for years, but it still astonished him when it actually worked. Not that any word of his little speech was untrue. He loved her. He did.

…

Roy cut leisurely through Washington Square Park, more or less empty at this time of day despite the Indian summer weather, and did a double-take when he saw a flash of gold near the arch. His dance instructor was leaning gracefully against the monument, wide cat eyes giving a particularly bold pigeon an amused look.

"_Claro que sí, mama_," Ed sighed exasperatedly into his phone. He caught sight of Roy and _grinned_. "_Yo sé, yo sé...mhm...besos, mama, besos. Chau_." Slipping the phone into the back pocket of his jeans, Ed cocked his head to the side. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Roy returned coolly, but felt something pull in his chest. God, the man was _stunning_, it should make him envious. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Nah, just my mom. She's coming up to visit and she gets very nervous before travel," he explained and gave Roy a thorough once over with a low, appreciative whistle at the slimly-fitted charcoal suit. It was all the taller man could do to not blush and look away. "On your way to ….?"

"My office. What about you?"

"Day job awaits me." At Roy's questioning glance, he chuckled. "The studio belongs to my little brother, I'm only there when he's out competing. Walk with me?" It wasn't really a question, but Roy nodded his head anyway and slipped his hands into his pockets as he matched his stride with Ed's. The blond glanced at him from the corner of his eye and reached up to brush a speck of dust off his shoulder.

"Thanks...So if the studio belongs to your brother, what do spend your days doing normally?"

"_Normally,_ I spend my time correcting college students' _sinful_ pronunciation of my native tongue and grading badly written papers on García Marquez," he answered with a rueful smile.

"But, I can't complain_ too_ much - the chemistry and physics departments let me play in their labs whenever they're free and as long as I don't blow anything up…" Another shrug. "And what do you do that requires you to look like an ad in GQ?"

"I run a hedge fund." Somehow that seemed terribly anticlimactic to Roy's own ears. Ears that had turned a fine shade of pink.

Ed's eyes glittered in calculation. "Ahah, that would explain why you can't dance."

Despite his own thoughts, Roy was immediately affronted and scoffed,"What does my profession have to do with my ability to dance?"

Ed stopped suddenly making Roy stop as well and turn to look at his impromptu companion. The blonde smiled a little manically and stepped into Roy's space and grabbed his wrists. With a wink, Ed took his captive partner's right hand in his and settled his free hand on Roy's lower back. "Humor me and follow. Your problem is you think too much, Mr. Hedge Fund Manager. You were pretty good last week, all things considered, but you're still too tightly wound, so stop using your head and just _feel_ it. So here we go with a _simple _mambo."

Roy gave the shorter man a dead pan expression. "Right now?"

"Yep, _right now_."

"In the park, with no music?"

"Well there'll be music in a minute, but you need to learn the steps first." Suddenly, Ed began

counting and leading Roy back and forth over the paving stones, smiling up at the brunette the entire time, a hidden emotion flaring in those startling gold eyes. Roy felt like a marionette, but couldn't find the indignity of being on the end of this beautiful creature's puppet strings as long as he kept looking at him like that.

"There, that's it," Ed mumbled approvingly and slid his hand lower to curve around the older man's hip as the move into the side step. "Drop your hip more..._more_... just like that." The blond peered up at him from beneath his lashes. "I think you're ready for music." He pulled out his phone and a few seconds later had the opening strains of music on a Spanish guitar blaring through its tiny speaker before pushing it into his back pocket again. The lithe man slid his left hand up Roy's right arm and settled it on his shoulder. "Come on, lead me." Dean Martin's smooth baritonecrooned to them as they moved around the central plaza, skirting the dry fountain. A few city dwellers out eating their lunches and tourists snapping photos looked at them with disgust? Fondness? Jealousy? Roy didn't know because all he could focus on was the warm body in his arms. A tingling heat spread between his legs and he could hear his breath coming a little fast and shallow in his ears.

_Like a flower bending in the breeze_

_Bend with me, sway with ease_

_When we dance you have a way with me_

_Stay with me, sway with me_

"You alright, Roy?" Ed husked as he pressed even closer. The line of the blond's body was sealed against his own and it made his mouth go dry.

"Of course." And Roy was sure he had somewhere he needed to be, but just didn't care enough to try and remember.

_I can hear the sounds of violins_

_Long before it begins_

_Make me thrill as only you know how_

_Sway me smooth, sway me now_

More people were gathering to watch them and it made Roy feel a little like an exhibitionist. He smirked down at his partner and locked onto that feral gaze. Quick, quick, slow...ah that's what that look is: hunger. Roy could feel it too, wanted to indulge in a little hedonism, but…

_Other dancers may be on the floor_

_Dear, but my eyes will see only you_

_Only you have the magic technique_

_When we sway I go weak_

Ed rolled his hips with his and Roy's arm couldn't wrap any tighter around the blond's back. They breathed the same breath and only Roy's promise of fidelity..._no_, only their unofficial pact of non-aggression kept them from bridging those last couple of inches between their mouths.

_Make me thrill as only you know how_

_Sway me smooth, sway me now_

_You know how_

_Sway me smooth, sway me now _

Dean's voice began to fade out and as they came to a slow stop, still only seeing each other, their audience, now grown in number, began to applaud. The scattered clapping sounded weak in the open air of the park, but all Roy could do was stare as Ed grinned sharply at the voyeurs and nodded a slight bow.

What was happening to him? Something like fear settled cold and hollow under his diaphragm. When Ed turned to him again, he had an incredible urge to _run away_, but like some tragically cliché nightmare, Roy found his body paralyzed by those gold eyes. It was like being eyed up for dinner by a lion in a zoo, logically you knew you were safe, but…

"Don't worry, Mr. Hedge Fund Manager." Ed's eyes flashed with amusement and...pity. "I'll let you go..._this_ time. See you in a couple of days." He leaned up and whispered, "But think of me when you're in your office bathroom." A shark's grin in lieu of a wave as Ed turned and sauntered away, ponytail swaying lasciviously, leaving Roy flustered and uncomfortably hard in his trousers. Cursing vehemently under his breath, the brunette shed his suit jacket and draped it over his arm to cover his arousal as he stomped back to his office building.

Only three more to go.

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><p>AN: Geez, I can't believe this is turning into a multi-parter! Anyways, hope you enjoyed and please review!


	3. Lesson 2

A/N: Warning: Mentions of prostitution.

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><p>The music cut out and Ed came towards them clapping, a wide grin on his face. "Good, good! You guys have been practicing. Roy you had a good, strong frame and kept your footwork clean as did you Riza," Riza and Roy exchanged glances...wait for it... "But I'm not feeling your passion." He came up behind Riza and spoke lowly enough in her ear that Roy couldn't make out the words. Something in him growled Mine as Ed's bangs brushed against the back of her neck. After a couple of minutes, Riza blushed and glanced up into Roy's eyes and then away causing Roy to blink in confusion. Ed grinned predatorily and said something in his fiancée's ear again and her mahogany gaze swung back to his and held fast. "Now one more time," Ed sang happily and signaled to Winry to start the music over.<p>

And when Riza moved against him, it was like he'd been transported back five years to the first night they'd met at Maes' wedding, both of them swaying awkwardly to the music blaring through the speakers. Certainly, she was much more graceful in his arms now, but the growing feeling of butterflies in his stomach and heat in his groin was the same as it was back then. He didn't know what Ed had said to her, but they hadn't been connected like this, well, since he'd proposed almost a year ago now. She was just as sexy and alluring and beautiful as ever, how had he forgotten? When they came to a stop for the second time, his eyes remained locked on hers and it was a genuine challenge not to kiss her breathless, to show her how much she meant to him.

"Excellent," came Ed's voice, full of smug satisfaction and Roy finally turned to look at the blond man and his Cheshire cat's grin. Just what is his game? Roy wondered and quickly stamped down an intense flare of anger. He did not like being toyed with, especially since he was used to being the one calling the shots-he wasn't the Bastard of Wall Street for nothing. He listened with half an ear as Ed explained the second half of the routine, while carefully scrutinizing his instructor's body language. When Ed was explaining the steps, there was no artifice to his gestures or expressions: a slight scowl furrowed his brow and his explanations were clear and brisk, but as he slipped out of 'instructor' mode, his mannerisms became silkier, more feline, and a secret amusement glimmered in his amber eyes. Feeling more confident with this new information in his possession, Roy returned his full concentration back to what Ed was saying.

"-so remember eight step, eight step, windmill, forward ocho, sanguchito, eight step, back ocho, sanguchito, eight step, windmill and finish. Got all that?" Roy grimaced internally and hoped Ed and Winry would demonstrate once more and luckily for him they did.

They reprised the first half of the routine and when the music slowed they followed suit into the second half, moving slowly, gracefully across the floor. It was still sensual, but more about intimacy than flash as they spun slowly and Winry twisted her rounded hips as her feet stepped in a figure-eight pattern, stopping only to slide the top of her ankle up Ed's shin and back down, leaving her foot turned out on the other side to let her twist her hips again in that hypnotic figure-eight. Then around the room they went again, eyes only for each other, Ed pushing Winry back across the floor in a zigzag pattern and then that still moment again as she slid her ankle up and over before they were back to the basic step, a beautiful spin again, a little tighter and faster and then they stopped in the barest of dips.

When Riza and Winry left to practice in the other studio, Ed was the picture of professionalism, which consternated Roy to no end. No secretive smiles or suggestive whispers in his ear, even if his cat eyes still sparkled with calculation and good humor. And to top it all off, he felt damn good in his arms. All of that masculine grace and lithe, compact musculature only served to remind of their little 'performance' in the park. Roy wanted Ed to be off-balance for once, but it didn't happen that night. Everything progressed normally and when the couple departed, there were no lingering promises in those golden eyes. Even so, he couldn't find it in himself to be too upset as he kissed Riza underneath a street lamp on the corner of 45th and Park.

…

Ed kicked back on his king-sized bed and snatched a half-empty pack of 520s and lighter off the bedside table. Winry always teased him about them. He supposed it was pretty girly to smoke cigarettes that had a heart-shaped hole in the filter tip, maybe he was getting sentimental in his old age, but how could he forget his 520 cens promise…He lit up and inhaled deeply before tossing the lighter and the pack back onto the table and remembered.

It had been thirty years ago when he and Al had turned up in Bangkok, hoping to find clues in Thailand's ruins on how to get back through the Gate. Their first night in the city, Ed had found himself wandering through the streets, trying to find his breath in the tropical heat, when he saw him again.

He was young, beautiful, and clearly up for sale with a face too achingly familiar for Ed to ignore. One thing led to another, as they say, and before Ed knew it, he was choking on a post-coital cigarette that had a heart-shaped hole in the filter, while a half-Thai rent boy nicknamed 'Roy' laughed at him. If Ed believed in God, he would've thought it was a sign. Barely Legal Roy walked him back to his hotel and when Ed tried to pay him (because he wasn't naïve or blind to his own moral failings), Roy pushed his hands away with a smile and told him with that dark velvet voice that he couldn't charge the first angel he'd ever seen in the supposed City of Angels (1).

By their fifth time together in as many days, Ed knew with absolute certainty that he wanted Roy and did his best to convince him to come with him and his brother to Ayyuthaya the following day. Roy promised to meet them at the harbor with a soft smile and softer kisses. He shouldn't have been surprised when Roy didn't show.

That was the third incarnation of Roy Mustang he'd met on Earth and it seemed rather unfair that they should always die so young and Ed didn't want to think about what that meant for his Colonel. His Colonel….for all he knew the man had gotten married to Riza, had a bunch of kids, and completely forgotten about him….A knock on the door interrupted Ed's spiraling thoughts. "Yeah?" he called.

"Hey," Winry said as she came into the bedroom and plopped onto the bed next to him. She grinned when she saw the half-done cigarette in his hand. "You and your 520s, Ed. "

He exhaled a stream of smoke out through his nose and sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Did I hear you on the phone earlier?"

"Yep, Al called. He said that his flight was coming in tomorrow at 3 at JFK and...he wanted to make sure you weren't getting into trouble. I told him no, but we both know that isn't the truth, now is it?" she said dryly and stole a drag off his cigarette. "So spill, what's up with you and that guy, huh? Don't think I haven't noticed how you get all weird around him."

Ed took the last pull and stubbed it out in the ashtray. If this had been the real Winry, he could have explained, but this was just a girl from Illinois, a good friend, but she just wouldn't understand. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't get all 'weird', but I do think it's kind of interesting that the Bastard of Wall Street has to take dance lessons," he gave her a piratical grin and rolled over onto his side, resting a possessive hand on her waist. "Now enough about him…" he purred against her mouth and thought to himself that at 112 he still had it.

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><p>(1) Bangkok's is called <em>Krung Thep<em> in Thai, which translates as "city of angels."

A/N: Yes, 520 cigarettes are real and do have heart-shaped holes punched in the filter. Anyway...wow, I did not expect for the story to go in that direction and there went that T rating ^^". More answers (and Al! woot!) to come in the next chapter. For those of you still following...thank you! I'm thinking there are four more chapters and an an epilogue coming.

Please review!


	4. Interlude II

AN: I do not own _100 Years of Solitude_, those rights belong to Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

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><p>" '<em>No le permitió siquiera pasar de la puerta que un momento después tuvo que cerrar porque la casa estaba llena de mariposas amarillas. <em>_-Lárguese -le dijo-. Nada tiene que venir a buscar entre la gente decente._' " A voice as rich and warm and slightly rough-edged as fine whiskey read to twenty-something odd college students as they sat, enraptured, on the steps that lined the dry, circular fountain. " 'She would not even let him come through the door, which a moment later she had to close because the house was filled with yellow butterflies. 'Go away,' she told him. 'You've got no reason to come calling on any decent person.' " Gold eyes flashed behind their black horn-rimmed glasses. "Okay that's the opener for our discussion today on chapters fourteen and fifteen, which I know you all read, isn't that right, Jack?"

A baby-faced freshman with a curly mop of brown hair and bright green eyes nodded emphatically. Ed grinned sharply and was about to start in on his lecture when he caught sight of Roy watching him. Looking over his glasses, he crossed his arms and smirked. "Oh, hold the nobel prize-winning thoughts I know you all are having, it looks like we have a guest. What can I and my humble class do for you, Mr. Marshall?"

"Professor Elric, there is nothing remotely humble about you," Roy quipped and smirked as well at the rounds of chuckling.

"Being laughed at by my own students, gee, and I really didn't want to assign that translation project over fall break…." Ed sighed dramatically and couldn't help shaking his head at the stricken looks on all of his students' faces. "Christ. Obviously, I'm not going to do that, so stop looking I sprouted a second-head. That's way more grading than I have the scotch to get me through, anyway ...alright, break up into groups of fives and discuss the significance of Mauricio Babilonia. Ten minutes." That dealt with, Ed bounced lightly up the steps and a few feet away from the fountain's edge before turning to Roy. "So, to what do I owe this honor?"

"Nothing, I just happened to be on my way back to my office after lunch and enjoying a nice stroll through Washington State Park," Roy said lightly and smiled down at Ed. He grinned internally at the slight frown on the blond's face. It was true, he _had_ just been passing through, but he certainly didn't want to pass up an opportunity to mess with this confounding man's mind. "But since we're here, I was wondering, what did you say to Riza last week?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

Ed glanced at him suspiciously and then smiled sagely. "If she won't tell you, what makes you think I will?"

Naturally Roy had expected that deflection. He stepped closer to the man, close enough to be violating his personal space, but not enough to garner notice from the students. "Easy, you obviously have a...weakness for me."

Ed...sighed and took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. For an instant, Roy got the impression that the man in front of him was _old_. "Look," Ed began. "I'm not a homewrecker. I do flirt, I am attracted to you, but don't you _dare_ try to use that as leverage. You don't even have a fraction of a clue who you're dealing with. Now, I have a class to teach. Excuse me." With that he put his glasses back on and turned away, leaving Roy flabbergasted. Where in the hell had _that_ come from?

…

Back in his office, which had an excellent view of the park, Roy's mind kept drifting back to that conversation. Who was Edward Elric? Finally having enough of his circling thoughts, he paged his secretary on his office phone.

"Yes, Mr. Marshall," his pleasant voice came through the intercom, laced with inquiry.

"Roger, I need you to run a background check on someone for me. Name's Edward Elric. E-L-R-I-C. Have it back to me ASAP, okay."

"Yes, Mr. Marshall. Do you need anything else, sir?"

"No, that will be all."

Soon he'd have answers.

…

Ed lounged against a pillar as he waited for his brother to disembark from his flight. He was always happy to see Al, but he had a feeling that he was going to get reamed out for this current mess he'd landed himself in. What was most frustrating was the fact that nothing had even happened. So why was he feeling so unsettled? Sighing and wishing for the 90s when people could still smoke in airports, he waited.

Eventually, he saw a tall, dark-blond man and black-haired woman with sharp, blue eyes. A grin plastered on his face, he strolled over to the pair with his hands shoved his trouser pockets. "Hey, hey, hey," he called on laugh and caught the woman in a hug and kissed her on both cheeks in greeting. "Looking as good as ever, Maria. And I see the Spanish weather agreed with you as always, Al," he teased as he exchanged cheek kisses and hugged him as well. He thought it royally unfair that his baby brother had grown to 6'1" next to his own 5'6", but it wasn't something he could help.

"Yeah, it was great. How was the studio while I was gone?"

"Didn't burn down and the old folks love me of course," Ed answered smugly and waggled his eyebrows when Maria rolled her eyes. He repressed a little sigh as a memory of Maria Ross rolling her eyes at Denny flashed across his mind. Too many reflections these days.

Al's grey eyes narrowed suspiciously at the brittle edges of Ed's smile. He didn't say anything though as Ed hailed a cab for the three of them.

The ride to Maria's apartment on the Upper East Side was filled with Al and Maria's stories from the tournament and partying with their friends in Barcelona. As soon as Maria got out of the cab, Al turned on Ed, "Okay spill, what's up?"

Ed didn't even bother feigning cluelessness, there was no point and he was tired. "Remember how I told you on the phone that I took on a couple that needed a choreographed routine? What I didn't tell you….is that they're the Colonel and the Lieutenant." He caught Al's stormy-eyed glare and rolled eyes. "I know, I know, I _know_. I thought I could handle it. I mean it's been…" he dropped his voice, so that the rumble of the engine covered it. "Thirty years since Thailand and over ninety since we came through..."

"Brother…." Al said softly and settled a hand over Ed's on the worn leather seat. The cab slowed to halt in front of their building. As Ed paid the driver, Al got out of the car and grabbed his suitcase from the trunk and breathed in the night air. It was nice to get away every once in a while, especially to a place as beautiful as Barcelona, but he was glad to be back. Even if he was in for a long night.

On the bed, Ed with his second cigarette on his lip and Al with a cup of mint tea, the two sat in silence after Ed explained what had happened. Al flexed his feet as he chewed his bottom lip in thought and listened to Ed sigh out another cloud of smoke. Once upon a time, he used to get on his brother about the smoking (and the drinking and the sex), but since nothing short of decapitation or a bullet, point blank to the heart, would take either of them down, it didn't seem worth the effort to nag him every time he lit up. It wasn't like he didn't have his own self-destructive tendencies and at least one of them he shared with his brother, so who was he to talk?

"Al...I've been doin' the math in my spare time and there's a total lunar eclipse on December 10th." A long, grey exhale. "And if I remember right, it should be happening at the exact same time as the one at home. Next one isn't for another three hundred and seven years."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time," Al pointed out quietly. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I can't do this anymore Al...Neither of us have aged a day past twenty-five since we came through the Gate together and I can't fuckin' be another twenty different people, running from place to place, hoping no one finds out. Even with the UK's protection….how long until they throw us in a lab and use us as test subjects? I know that there's no one we know left on the other side...even little Elysia'd be around a hundred years old now, but at least we'd be home and hopefully...back to normal." Ed looked down at right hand. "I might have to give my right arm back...but it'd be worth it at this point. I really can't do this anymore, Al, I really, really can't." Gold eyes caught silver and after more than a century of being together, nothing more needed to be said.

The younger man put a hand over Ed's and leant over to rest his head on his shoulder. If Al was being completely honest with himself, he wanted to go back, too. What was the point in being young forever without anyone to share in it? Yes, he had Ed...but he needed more. The Gate sure had a fucked up sense of humor. A soft knock on the door came and Winry poked her head around the door.

"Hey guys, can I come in now?" She asked quietly, feeling the tension in the air, but smiled when Al patted the space between them. Ed kissed her on the forehead and got up to go brush his teeth, stubbing out his cigarette as he went. Winry got under the covers with Al and gave him a 'proper' hello, humming happily against his mouth, while they waited for Ed to come to bed. If her mother ever knew what she got up to while in New York City, she'd never be allowed back home again.

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><p>AN: I can't believe I got this out in relatively reasonable amount of time. Anyways, things are heating up, no? Just for the record (because I know it's not clear and I don't think that I'm going to really be spending any more time on this) Al and Ed are NOT romantically involved. Yes, they both sleep with Winry and all three share a bed, but they aren't _that_close in this story. Hope you guys enjoyed this!


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